Apparatus for drying liquids.



0.8. SLEEPER.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING uoums.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE16, \9l5.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

venior M 2 0. S. SLEEPER.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING LIQUIDS. APPLICATION FILED was 16. 1915.

1,179,569. v Patented Apr. 18 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- I 2 A fiver/Z0? 7 bra O. S. SLEEPER.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING LIQUIDS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16. 1915.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- lllllllllll .IIlIIIII|IllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII n venior 0. S. SLEEPER.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING uqums.

APPLICATION FILED IUNE I6, I9I5- 1,179,569, Patent-ed Apr. 18, 1916.

4 SHEETS SHEET 4.

I I II III IIIIIII III (a 5172 0922 Z07: law W construction.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OLIVER S. SLEEPER, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BUFFALO FOUNDRY AND MACHINE COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK,

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

I APPARATUS FOR DRYING- LIQUIDS.

. Specification of Letters .Patent.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

SerialNo. 465,519. Divided and this application filed June 16, 1915. Serial No. 34,509.

a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie-and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Liquids, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an apparatus for drying any liquids containing solids, emulsions, or pulps, such as dyewood extracts, white lead, glues, milk, acids, chemicals and so forth and has the object to enable liquids to be dried more thoroughly, expeditiously and economically than has been possible by the methods and apparatus heretofore employed for this purpose.

This application is a division'of an application filed December 1, 1908, Serial #465,519. In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a vacuum dryingapparatus embodying my improved Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof partly in section. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section in line 3-3, Fig. 1. Figs. 4 and-5 are horizontal sections in lines 4-4 and 5-5, Fig. 3, respectively.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

In using my improved apparatus for drying liquids the liquid to be dried is'presented in the form of a'shallow stream to a heated member which is movable so that a thin film of the liquid is picked up by said member. The material which dries on the heated member is removed therefrom preparatory to applying a fresh coat of undried liquid on the heated member. The liquid to be dried is supplied to the stream in excess of the amount which is capable of adhering to the heated member and the surplus escapes from the tail of the stream. This surplus is caught at the tail of the stream and again fed to the same at the head thereof so that a constant circulation takes place of the liquid to be dried. By this means the stream is always of a uniform depth to properly coat the heatedmember, thereby insuring uniformityin the product. p 4

Although my invention may be .practised by means of ap aratus' of different constructions that own in the drawingsissuitable for the purpose and is constructed as follows: A represents the vacuum or drymg chamber which has a semi-cylindrical top while its lower part is constructed to form a liquid supply 'basin or reservoir B and a product receiving chamber C, said liquid basin and receiving chamber being ar-' ranged side by side and separated by an intervening upright wall or partition 03, as shown in Fi 3 and 5. At the top of the drying cham er the same is provided with a vapor outlet a which is connected with a vacuum pump or other exhausting device for withdrawing the vapors from the interior of the drying chamber and facilitating the drying of the liquid stock under treatment. Lengthwise within the vacuum chamber is arranged a hollow cylindrical heating or drying drum E which is rotatable in the direction of the arrow 1 in Fig. 3 and which is jouiinaled by means of hollow trunnions e, e arranged on opposite ends or heads of the drum and turning ,in' bearings e in the adjacent walls of the vacuum chamber. The rotation of .the drum may be effected by a driving mechanism comprising with the other hollow trunnion by'a back-- wardly curved pipe H connecting the channel of the scoop with the inner end of the res ective hollow trunnion." Into the outer on of the latter a stationary delivery pipe hprojects which serves to carry away the water of condensation. The liquid to be dried may be introduced into the "reservoir in any suitable way, for'insta-uce, by a supplypipe b, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4:. Ad- ]acent to the lowermost part of the periphery of the drying drum and above the liquid basin is arranged a feed pan whereby a shallow stream "of the liquid to be dried is supported so that the underside of the drum dips into the. same. This pan comprises a curved bottom I and two curved flanges or ribs 1; arrangedv transversely at opposite I 7 channel or passage between the drum and pan through which the stream of liquid 10 flows from the front longitudinal "edge to .the rear longitudinal edge of the pan." The liquid is prevented from escaping at the transverse edges of the pan bottom by the flanges.i,-thereby avoiding the deposit of any liquid on the ends of the drum where its removal when subsequently dried would be difficult and also .prevent the machine .from being cleaned easily. Access may be shad to the interior of the drying chamber through a manholein awall of .the drying chamber which is,normally closed by a cover a" and the operation of the parts may be observed from the exterior by means of windows i which are suitably arranged in the walls 'of the drying chamber for that purpose. The pan is capable of being moved ,toward and from the drum so as to permit of exposing its upper side for inspection and cleaning. For this purpose the same is mounted at its front/ longitudinal edge by means of an arm j'ona horizontal rock shaft J which is journaled lengthwise below the pan in hearings in on the adjacent end ,walls of the vacuum chamber. The pan is moved into and out of its operative posi- '.tion by means of a handle L secured to one endof the shaft J outside of the drying chamber and held in place when the pan is in its operative position by means of a notch 'l on the handle which receives a clamping screw 1 on the outer .side of the drying chamber, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4:.

The liquid to be dried isdelivered into the pan at the head edge thereof by a horizontal longitudinal delivery pipe M arranged adjacentto this edgeof the pan and provided with one or more' delivery nozzles m which project laterally over the head edge of the pan bottom. The delivery pipe is supported on the end walls of the drying chamber and preferably receives its supply from the basin or reservoir in the lower part of the drying chamber. The liquid may be carried from the reservoir to the delivery pipe by any suitable means but preferably by a rotary force pump N which has its inlet connected with the reservoir while its outlet is connected with the delivery pipe M. This pump should be placed a sufficient distance below the reservoir so that the liquid in the latter will flow by gravity into the pump and thus enable the same to carry the liquid to the delivery pipe which it otherwise could not do owing to the counteracting effect of the vapor exhausting device which is connected with the drying chamber.

During the operation of the drier the pump N is operated so that the quantity of liquid which is withdrawn from the reservoir by the pump and'delivered by the nozzles to the feed pan maintains a constant stream over said'pan from the head to the tail thereof which completely fills the space between the bottom of the pan and the periphery of the drum. This stream is in excess of the amount of liquid capable of adhering to the periphery of the drum as the latter sweeps through the same so that the drum always dips into the liquid a uniform extent and the surplus escapes from the tail of the pan and drops into the reservoir belowv the same to be again put in circulation by the pump. By this means a I uniform coat of liquid is obtained on the drum at all times which results in a product of uniform quality.

In order to prevent the solid particles in the liquid from settling in the reservoir the latter is provided with one or more agitators or stirrers 0 which may be constructed and operated in any suitable manner.

As the film of liquid is carried away from the pan, the same is dried on the drum owing to the heat of the steam therein and before the dried material reaches the pan the same is scraped from the periphery of the drum by a scraper or blade P which engages the periphery of the drum in front of the liquid feeding devices. As shown in the drawings this scraper is mounted on a horizontal shaft 2 which is journaled lengthwise at the upper edge of the partition 05 and pressed constantly for holding the scraper yieldingly in engagement with the drum by one or more weight arms 12 connected with the scraper shaft outside of the drying chamber and each provided with a weight g, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4.

The dried material which is removed from the drum by the scraper is directed by the same into the product receiving chamber C which latter preferably contains a box R for the reception of the dried material. This box is inserted in the receiving chamber and removed therefrom through an opening in one of the end walls of the drying chamber which opening is normally closed by a cover S.

The space in the drying chamber immediately above the receiving chamber is partly obstructed by a dust guard t which extends from the inner side of the drying chamber to within a short distance'of the periphery of the drum and thus prevents the suction of the exhaust device from carrying the dust or. fine particles of dried material out of the receiving chamber.

I claim as my invention:

1. A drier comprising adrying chamber,

said pan at the head thereof.

2. A drier comprising a drying chamber, a drying drum rotatable in said chamber, a pan arranged close to the underside of said drum and adapted to suppbrt a stream of the liquid to be dried in position to cause the drum to dip into the same and pickup a thin film.thereof,a liquid feed pipe .arranged in said chamber independent of said pen and having a nozzle which discharges the-iiqnid supplied by said-pipe into said.

pi; IZ- ill the head thereof and a basin arranged in said chamber below the pan for catching the surplus liquid escaping from the tail of said pan.

- 3. A drier comprising a drying chamber, a drying drum rotatable in said chamber, a pan arranged close. to the underside of said drum and adapted to support a stream of the liquid .to be dried in position to cause the drum to dip into the same and pick up a thin film thereof, a liquid feed pipe arranged in said chamber independent of said pan and havinga nozzle which discharges the liquid supplied by sa d pipe into said pan at the head thereof, a basin arranged, i n

said chamber below the an for catching the surplus liquid-escaping mm the tail of said pan and a pump adapted to withdraw the liquid from said basin and deliver the same to said feed pipe.

4. A drier comprising a drying chamber, a drying drum rotatable in said chamber, a pan arranged close to the underside of said drum and adapted to support a stream of the liquid to be dried in position to cause the drum to dip into the same and pick up a thin film thereof, a liquid feed pipe arranged in said chamber independent of said pan and having a nozzle which discharges the liquid supplied by said pipe into said pan at the head thereof and a rocking sup port carrying said pan.

5. A drier comprising a drying chamber, a drying drum rotatable in said chamber, a pan arranged close to the underside of said drum and adapted to support a stream of the liquid to be dried in position to cause the drum. to dip into the same and pick up a thin iilm thereof, a liquid feed pipe arranged in said chamber independent of said pan and having a nozzle which discharges the liquid supplied by said pipe into said pan at the head thereof, a rock shaft supporting the pan at its head end and journaled on the walls of said chamber, and a shifting handle connected with said shaft outside of said chamber. and means for holding said handle in its operative position.

OLIVER S. SLEEPER. 

